Subsidy programs on diffusion of solar water heaters: Taiwan’s experience

Financial incentives are essentially one of the key factors influencing diffusion of solar water heaters in many countries. Two subsidy programs were initiated by the government of Taiwan in 1986 (1986–1991) and 2000 (2000–present), respectively. Those long-term national programs are considered to b...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy policy 2011-02, Vol.39 (2), p.563-567
Main Authors: Chang, Keh-Chin, Lin, Wei-Min, Lee, Tsong-Sheng, Chung, Kung-Ming
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Diffusion
Economic data
economic incentives
Energy
Energy economics
Energy policy
Energy sector
Enlargement
Exact sciences and technology
General, economic and professional studies
Government subsidies
Governments
heaters
Heating
Incentives
industry
Market
Market analysis
Markets
Natural energy
Regional
sales
Solar energy
Solar water heater
Solar water heater Subsidy Market
Studies
Subsidies
Subsidy
Systems design
Taiwan
Technology transfer
Water
Water heaters
Water supply
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Financial incentives are essentially one of the key factors influencing diffusion of solar water heaters in many countries. Two subsidy programs were initiated by the government of Taiwan in 1986 (1986–1991) and 2000 (2000–present), respectively. Those long-term national programs are considered to be the driving force on local market expansion. In 2008, the regional subsidy programs for solar water heaters were announced by Kaohsiung city and Kiemen county, which resulted in the growth in sales. A revised subsidy was also initiated by the government of Taiwan in 2009. The subsidy is 50% more. However, the tremendous enlargement of market size with a high-level ratio of subsidy over total installation cost might result in a negative impact on a sustainable SWH industry and long-term development of the local market, which is associated with system design and post-installation service. This paper aims to address the relative efficiency and pitfalls of those national and regional programs.
ISSN:0301-4215
1873-6777
DOI:10.1016/j.enpol.2010.10.021